The Drink I Promised You
by tsukasayuki
Summary: A year after the True end of Tales of Xillia 2, Alvin promised Ludger a fancy drink. *HUGE SPOILERS FOR XILLIA 2* LeiaxAlvin


A year ago, they were unsure on what kind of endeavors a Rieze Maxian and Elympion could pull together. A year ago, they raced through struggles and almost lost a union they had worked over a year to succeed in. A year ago, because of the help of friends, something Alfred Vint Svent had never had the pleasure of having for over twenty years, he was able to reconcile with Yurgen of the Ktarl clan and the fruit business started by a Rieze Maxian and Elympion was finally set to fruition. A year ago, the two businessmen had a celebration with Alfred's cousin, Balan, Leia Rolando of the newspaper, and of course Ludger Wil Kresnik, the man who, due to unfortunate circumstances led by fate was entrapped in a series of events that eventually led to his downfall. However, Ludger was also able to unite an interesting team of old friends and even former enemies, and throughout all of it, he was able to help Alfred and Leia find their place. A year ago was a celebration that Alfred, or Alvin as he liked to be called, would never forget.

The celebration was only at the bar in Duval – not really the most prestigious place for a drink, but it was enough to settle. However, Alvin promised Ludger that he owed him a drink at an even better place, preferably one that kids couldn't get into (which meant Leia wouldn't have been able to come along either, which Alvin was sure he would have to hear later on). Due to events that spiraled out of anyone's control for the sake of humans and spirits alike, that drink Alvin promised Ludger would never happen.

A year after all the fractured dimensions had been destroyed due to the selfless acts of Ludger, the fond memories the quiet Kresnik boy left on Alvin were still prevalent, and to celebrate that drink he owed Ludger, Alvin vowed to spend the afternoon in front of the tombstone that occupied an empty coffin buried in the ground. The only words on the stone were "Ludger Wil Kresnik." Approaching the tombstone with a scraggly paper bag with only the finest Elympion sake inside it, Alvin sat in front of it and set out two wine glasses, one on the ground in front of him and one right next to him. There were Princessias on top of the grave, signifying that someone (most likely Elize or Jude) had already been to visit. Alvin opened the bottle and poured the sake in both glasses. Once both glasses were full, he set the sake back in the bag and grabbed the cup closest to him.

"Well, here's that drink I promised ya. This stuff is hard to get, y'know," the noble Svent child clanged his glass with the other one and took a small sip as he stared up at the sky. The trees were starting to become a more vibrant green in their leaves, signifying that perhaps mana was slowly reviving in Elympios. That would be thanks to Jude's spyrite breakthrough. Alvin took another small sip.

"Are you talking to a ghost?" A chipper voice spoke from behind him.

Alvin didn't need to turn around to know who that was, so without turning around and enjoying his drink, he replied, "Yeah. The guy won't respond back though." He tried to hide the pain with snark, but the two knew how much Ludger's passing affected them – how it affected everyone.

The cheeky teenager sat down next to the older man and gently placed a bouquet of pink flowers next to the wine glass full of sake. "Elle and I were looking for you. We asked Yurgen and he had no idea. Finally we saw Balan heading toward Helioborg, and he told us where to find you."

"So… where's Elle and Rollo?" Alvin continued to take sips from his glass.

"She wanted to get something really special for him," the girl, Leia Rolando of the Elympion newspaper, turned to smile at Alvin. He looked back at her with his glass still in his hand and gave her a small smile. "That's the drink you owed him, huh?" Her usual chipper voice turned to something a bit more solemn.

"Yeah…" Even Alvin's voice lowered to a solemn tone. Leia turned to look at the grave and pulled her knees closer to her chest, holding them in her arms. She leaned her head onto Alvin's shoulder, which caught him slightly off guard. He smiled at the girl, and then looked at the grave as he took his final sips of the sake in his glass. When he set the glass down next to him, he looked up at the trees and closed his eyes, taking in the nice cool breeze of Elympios.

The two sat like this for a few minutes, with small sniffling sounds coming from the younger girl, when finally the silence was broken. "Alvin…"

He opened his eyes and looked down at the girl resting her head on his shoulder. Leia's eyes were closed still, but tear streaks ran down her cheek. She took her right hand and gently forced it to interlock with Alvin's left hand. She squeezed it tight. "Hey, Leia what's-"

"Don't die," she said this so calmly and solemn, very unlike the chipper girl. Alvin stared at her, concern written all over his face, but then he wrapped his free arm around Leia and placed a hand on her cheek. She opened her eyes, tears still apparent.

"That's asking a lot from me, you know that right snoops?" He was still awkward when it came to romantic things like this, but according to Leia he seemed to get better. Slightly better.

Leia glared at him. "It's not like you're doing anything dangerous anymore, right? So just… don't be reckless like you usually are… After Ludger died and Milla disappeared, I just…"

"I don't know… selling fruit is pretty risky," Alvin smiled, still looking at the cheeky teenager.

"You can't take anything seriously, can you?" Leia's cheeks puffed up, but her tears were still obviously flowing.

Alvin sighed. He definitely wasn't the best at romance, let alone being the object of a seventeen year old's affection, especially since his last relationship was solely based on lies and deceit and he wasn't even sure if _that _was love. However, through the last couple of years spending time with Leia, he's learned a lot about himself and the whole dating thing, and a lot of that was due to Ludger's help. At any rate, he couldn't stand to see Leia cry or look at him with disappointment – it was a look that reminded him of the man he used to be. Not knowing anything else to do to cheer her up, he pulled her lips closer to his and kissed her, hoping she would at least calm down.

How could she say something like that? _Don't die_. He hadn't planned on it. He's only had two years of redemption after twenty some years of living a life of deception. That wasn't near enough time to right everything.

"Hey lovebirds, get a room!" The romantic moment was interrupted by a high-pitched voice followed by a disgruntled meow. Alvin soon let go of Leia and pulled out the sake bottle. He poured himself another glass, feeling the heat of his cheeks rise up. It took a lot to make Alvin blush, so the source of the high-pitched sound considered this a victory.

Leia looked behind her and smiled. "Elle, Rollo! What did you get?" Leia's tone in her voice shifted to her usual sound.

Walking closer to the two, Elle pulled out two blades that appeared rusted. "These."

Alvin turned around and looked to see what Elle had brought with her. "Aren't those…"

Elle nodded. "They're Glasses Guy's." She walked closer to the grave and gently set the blades behind the glass of sake. Elle sat down in front of the grave and clasped her hands together, as though she were praying. Rollo walked behind her and meowed gently as he sat next to the girl, as though the cat were also praying for Ludger.

Alvin and Leia watched Elle silently. Leia clasped Alvin's hand once more and the two looked at each other, gently smiling at one another.

"Ludger…" Elle started speaking. "No, I mean daddy. Even though you weren't my real daddy, and I wasn't your real Elle, you treated me like I was real. I won't…" tears began to form in her eyes. Rollo meowed and rubbed his head against Elle's leg. Elle opened her eyes and gently tapped the top of Rollo's head. She then shifted her gaze back to the grave and closed her eyes, clasping her hands together again. "Rollo misses you too, but don't worry. I take real good care of him. And… I got these two idiots to watch me," Elle smiled as she looked back at Alvin and Leia. They didn't hear her at all, which was probably good on her part. She then looked at the grave, this time her eyes staying open as she let the tears come out. "I promise I'll be good, daddy. I won't let you down. They'll make sure of it…"

And then the tears rushed out, unable to control them, Elle rubbed her arms across her eyes trying to stop them, but she just let them all flow out. A small tap on the head stopped her for a moment. She looked up and Alvin and Leia were standing behind her, towering over her. They smiled down at her. Elle looked up at the two of them for a moment, and then her tears started up again. She ran straight to Alvin, wrapping her tiny figure around him and bawling her eyes out. Alvin gently tapped the top of her head, trying to calm her down, but all she really needed was to let the tears come out. Leia held Alvin's free hand tightly in her own and she gently placed her other hand on Elle's shoulder. The three stayed like this until Elle let all her tears flow out, which eventually caused her to fall asleep.

In moments, both Alvin and Leia were sitting down and Elle's head laid in Alvin's lap while her legs sprawled across Leia's lap. Rollo curled up next to Alvin close to Elle's head and fell asleep as well.

"Poor thing cried herself to sleep," Leia sighed and looked at Alvin.

His expression was a mix of concern and determination, something Leia rarely saw in the older man. Perhaps it was the fact that he handled Elle so well, or it was the determination he showed, but at that moment Leia knew that this was the man she fell for. She knew that he was the man she loved and wanted to be with. Alvin looked at Leia, which only made her blush.

"Maybe this was meant to happen. I want to give her the childhood I was robbed of," Alvin sighed and patted Elle's forehead. "The girl already had it rough. Spirius may still be looking for her so…"

"We won't let that happen. The fractured dimensions are no longer a threat, right?"

Alvin closed his eyes in thought, and then opened them. "I want to make sure that's true. I want to make sure Spirius won't bother her."

"Then…" Leia was a little confused.

"Come on, Leia, you're talking to the smartest man in Elympios," Alvin winked. "Well… except not really, but I know my way around a lie…"

"You're not thinking of-"

Alvin nodded. "There's only one way to be sure Spirius is on the straight and narrow. Work my way up to the top, like a normal hard-working person, right? With my experience, getting a job at Spirius wouldn't be too hard."

"What about Yurgen?"

Alvin scratched the back of his head. "I'll still have the business with him as a side project. It's no big deal now, right? It's not like we're saving the world or anything," Alvin winked at Leia, making her face turn even more red.

Leia nodded. "For the sake of Elle, right?" She smiled, "I never thought I'd see the day that Alfred Vint Svent would change his life for a little girl," she teased him.

"I changed my life for you…" He quietly said, looking down at the young girl sleeping.

Leia gently looked away and nodded. "I'll follow you every step of the way, Alvin." With that, the cheeky teenager clasped the older man's hand in her own, holding it tight. They already decided that they belonged together, and now they practically had something to protect, together, because that's what Ludger Wil Kresnik had left them. The Key of Kresnik.


End file.
